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Julia Child: Chef, Spy, Quiz

by Michael Y. Park

on 08/14/08 at 10:16 PM

What better excuse to celebrate what an extraordinary woman Julia Child was than the recent declassification of reams and reams of top-secret files from the OSS, the spy organization that was a precursor to the CIA, and that employed Child during World War II?

And what better way to have fun with Julia Child facts than with a quick quiz? Here the questions are, in vaguely increasing order of difficulty:

1. What was Julia Child's famous sign-off at the end of each show?a. "Bon appetit!"b. "You too are a gourmet!"c. "There's nothing wrong with being epicurious."

2. Which of the following did Child invent for the OSS during World War II?a. More durable (and tastier) recipes for dehydrated fruits and tinned chicken in C-rationsb. A nearly foolproof method for transmitting secret codes via baguettec. Shark repellent

4. What prompted Child to attend classes at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris after the war?a. She was a natural chef, and her husband encouraged her to develop her talents.b. She was an awful cook, and her husband wanted a decent meal for once.c. She was on assignment to sniff out a suspected nest of Nazi collaborators at the school.

5. Child made her first appearance on TV in 1963, when she appeared on a book program to tout "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" but ended up making an omelet. What was the immediate fallout from her appearance?a. She was told that, at 6' 2" and age 50, she was too tall and old to be on television. b. She was hired to do 26 cooking shows. At $50 a piece. c. The host of the book show came down with a bout of salmonella.

6. What did Child pin to her blouse before every show?a. A poppy flower. b. A patch with a big "3" on it. c. A leek.

7. Child grew up as Julia Carolyn McWilliams in California in the 1910s and 1920s, and then attended Smith College. Where did she think her future lay?a. As a basketball player or novelist. b. As a farmer or a chef. c. As a nurse or teacher.

8.-13. Child was famously outspoken about her likes and dislikes when it came to cooking and eating. Match the food or cuisine to Child's feelings about it:

a. "I hate ____. [They're/It's] raw and burnt at the same time." b. "I could live without it." c. "I would pick it out if I saw it and throw it on the floor." d. "They have kind of a dead taste to me." e. "I don't think it's real cuisine because you don't do much." f. "____ [is/are] very good, I think."

14. What was the meal that hooked Child on French cuisine?a. Foie gras and noix du Perigord cream cheese, lobster in vinaigrette with autumnal vegetables, and seared filet of beef with truffle butter b. Day-old coq au vin, fresh bread and "a marvelously ruddy red wine on a blustery winter day" c. Oysters and a dry white wine,"one of those lovely scalloped dishes and the lovely, creamery buttery sauce," and roast duck

15. Child called French cuisine the most important in the world. She did, however, once seem to acknowledge a possible rival. What was it?a. Chinese cuisine b. Indian cuisine c. Japanese cuisine

Answers after the picture of J.C.

1. a. "Bon appetit!" But let's all pretend she coined the name of everyone's favorite food site anyway.

2. c. The shark repellent was used on anti-submarine mines, which had a nasty habit of blowing up when the big fishes bumped into them.

3. b. She cooked for decades on her "big Garland," a six-burner restaurant stove she bought for $429 from a friend nicknamed "The Buffalo."